6 Mistakes to Avoid on Social Media
As small photography businesses, we're under pressure to have a great presence on social media platforms, but sometimes we make mistakes which hinder us rather than help the growth of our businesses.
For photographers, Facebook and Instagram are the most popular platforms, and here's a few mistakes to avoid making on social media:
#1 POSTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITHOUT HAVING A TARGET AUDIENCE IN MIND
If you're on social. media and your talking to absolutely everyone, the chances are you're reaching absolutely no-one. It's always important to have a targeted audience, in other words your 'ideal client'. Know who they are, because this will make your life easier when you're communicating on social media. You'll know who you're reaching out to, and those people have more chance of seeing you.
#2 TOO MUCH SELF PROMOTION AND SELLING ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Believe it or not, your followers on social media will tire of your posts if they are doing nothing other than promoting you and your business. Once they tire, they'll unfollow and move on.
Your followers also want to be educated by your posts, and they want to be inspired. This can relieve the pressure from you to think you need to be 'selling' all the time. Be sure to let your clients in a little by telling some of your story, i.e. how you came to do what you do, what inspires you, what you've been up to. You never know, the personal aspect of you might be just the thing that connects a client to you.
Educate your clients with information that might be useful to them. This lets them know that you are an expect in what you do.
Inspire them with your great work, the testimonials of others and with your passion for your business.
#3 NOT ENGAGING ENOUGH ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Often try to encourage conversation. You can do this by asking questions in your posts and in your stories. You may not always get responses, but be persistent. When you do get responses, this is an opportunity for you to reach out and make a connection.
When your followers comment on your posts, be sure to respond as this could become a warm lead for you and your business.
As well as potential clients, it's good practice to engage with others and leave comments for them; and show appreciation for their posts and their work.
#4 BEING POLITICAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
When we think of political issues such as Brexit, Black Lives Matter, Covid issues, etc., it's fair to say we all have an opinion, sometimes strong opinions. And it's not uncommon to see the political opinions across social media platforms.
If the profile of your ideal client doesn't include any political persuasion, it's wise to keep your political opinions to yourself and not post these on your social media. You could lose potential clients and, even worse, you could start a disagreement across your social media account.
So be very careful to keep your business account clean.
#5 PURCHASING FAKE FOLLOWERS
It can be so tempting on instagram to fast track your account and grab large numbers of followers, in other words fake followers. This will do absolutely nothing for you or your business.
Instagram have strong algorithms and if you are found out, you will be punished and it could cost you dearly.
You would also be causing your business more harm than good, and here's why. When you post, instagram doesn't show it to 100% of your followers. So imagine you have 500 followers, instagram responds to the responses you get. So if you get 25 'likes' and comments, this is 5% of your followers. That's not too shabby. But if you then purchase 2000 followers for $50, these fake followers won't join in and 'like' or comment on your posts. So now, doing the maths, if you still get roughly 25 'likes' and comments, this has now dropped to 1% of your followers responding to your posts. Ouch! Instagram won't invest in accounts with very little or no engagement.
The truth is, you cannot have your business and followers without putting in the work and the effort. Don't be tempted by these shortcuts. It may seem like only $10 or $50, but it costs you a lot more than that.
#6 NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR ANALYTICS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Analytics are there to help you. To help you see what is working and what might not be working for you on your social media account. Some posts perform better than others, and reach further than others. It's important for you to know.
It's so easy in the beginning to get caught up in the hype of thousands of followers. Yes everyone wants large numbers of followers, but what use are they really if they don't engage?
So what KPIs are you looking at? Followers? Likes? Comments? Ultimately, you want LEADS on your account. You want your ideal client following you, you want potentials who may at some point want to do business with you, or they might be able to share your posts with your ideal client.
I really hope this has been helpful. Be in touch with you want any help.
Until next time. Dee x
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